Jordan arrests 4 Syrian soldiers near border

Jordan's security forces say the military has arrested four unarmed Syrian soldiers found in the zone between the two countries' borders.     

A security spokesman said the men were arrested on Monday and are being interrogated. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to make press statements     

It was unclear whether the soldiers were trying to enter Jordan or were attempting to return to Syria.     

The security spokesman could not provide further details as the probe is underway.
 
This as, Syria's state news agency said a terrorist group blew up a natural gas pipeline in the country's oil-rich east on Monday.     

The government refers to the rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad as terrorists.     

The news agency said the blast Monday some 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Deir el-Zour caused the loss of around 1.5 million cubic meters of gas. It quoted an Oil Ministry official as saying the station fed electricity plants and a fertilizer factory and that engineers were repairing the leak.     

Rebels have repeatedly targeted Syria's oil infrastructure in an effort to sap government finances. Last week, they reported seizing the al-Tanak oil field, also in eastern Syria.

Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday that dozens of bodies were found on Sunday evening in  the Barza neighborhood, North Damascus.                

The Observatory added that the unidentified bodies were found bearing signs of torture, and so far they have not been identified.                

The General Authority of the Syrian Revolution said that almost 50 bodies were found beheaded and accused pro-regime militias of killing them.

Following the UN Special Peace Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi's declaration of a proposal to solve the Syrian crisis, the Syrian PM Wael Nader al-Halqi said that his cabinet is responding to any regional or international initiative to solve the crisis through dialogue.


AP/LBCI